Bread without wheat

New ways of making bread from cassava and sorghum could reduce the dependence of the Third World on imported wheat for white bread, according to FAO, who have been researching this for two years. Traditional staples have been rejected in developing countries over the years as they do not make an attractive, longlasting bread, partly because few other cereals contain sufficient gluten. Now FAO scientists have succeeded in making acceptable loaves from cassava or sorghum flour using xanthan as a gluten substitute: These breads especially cassava, stay fresh longer and taste better than wheat bread, and the batterlike dough can also be proved (made to rise) using the same methods. Now FAO, with the National Institute of Nutrition in Rome and the Institute for Bakery Research in Detmold, Germany, is experimenting with other methods that will give the vital stable but flexible cell wall that will retain the carbon dioxide bubbles produced by yeast - such as partially cooking cassava flour with water before the bread-making process, and adding egg-white or legume flour to 'set' the dough. Research is continuing, and it seems likely that soon rice, millet, maize, roots, tubers, as well as cassava and sorghum could be used in bread production either domestically or commercially, with profound implications for developing countries. For more details, contact: Morton Satin Food and Agricultural Industries Service FAO Via delle Terme di Caracalla 00100 Rome ITALYNew ways of making bread from cassava and sorghum could reduce the dependence of the Third World on imported wheat for white bread, according to FAO, who have been researching this for two years. Traditional staples have been rejected in developing..